A look at the Middle East

Back Into the Fold

[tweetmeme] I made it back from Jordan alive late last night. Barely, though, as every joint in my body was tight from the 35 hour bus ride (8 hours at the Saudi border, plus a breakdown in the desert – good stuff). So while I continue to hobble like a 80-year-old and mine through my Google Reader – I’ll point to a few good reads for your (western) weekend.

– Not much news here, but Diana Mukkalid has a link-worthy editorial at Alsahrq Alawsat about the cyclone of Lebanese politics – mainly about the differing reactions to the fourth and fifth anniversaries of Syria’s withdrawal from the country (last year and this year). Money quote: “No one can deny the significant and numerous changes that have taken place over the past five years, the most important of which is Syria’s military withdrawal from Lebanon. But has this had an impact on the nature of Syria’s ambitions in Lebanon, especially as the Lebanese internal situation seems to have no immunity at all from such ambitions?”

– Jerusalem Media and Communications Center has a new poll showing rising support for a one state binational solution among Palestinians. Nearly 34 percent of Palestinians polled responded favorably to a one state solution. The Majlis compiled some important numbers from the poll and compared them to recent years (a good chart, check it out) and found that support for Fatah is up slightly (38% to 39%) while support for Hamas is down considerably (18% to 14%) from last year. Meanwhile, support for a two state solution has dropped (55% to 43%) and support for a binational solution is up (20% to 33%) over the same one year period.

– On Thursday, two rockets landed in Aqaba, Jordan – presumably aimed at the nearby Israeli town of Eilat. The AP quotes some unnamed Jordanian official as saying the rockets could have come from Jordan, but Al Jazeera quotes other unnamed sources, saying the rockets were not Jordanian. Got to love anonymity.

– Al Jazeera has a great Inside Story video dissecting the plight of Palestinians in Lebanon. Does the political sectarianism of Lebanon demand the continued denial of civil rights to the Palestinians?

International Criminal Law

NEW POST

All of the sudden Israel became a source of inspiration and a leading factor in American Jewish life. Often it was heralded as the “light unto nations” and various narratives at this time sprang up with great proliferation. Criticism of Israel and its policies within the community and within the world in general was kept hidden to a point that criticism was (and still now) considered anti-Semitic or “self hating.” This newly found love affair produced a plethora of “authoritative” works by prominent American Jews and their sympathizers that were held in high regard. Miraculously these books coincided with key events in the history where Israel was rightly being condemned for massive atrocities in the occupied territories and foreign countries such as Lebanon.